Attention all weaklings - Like Gideon, God may choose you!
Judges -16 The LORD turned to him and said, 'Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?' 'But Lord,' Gideon asked, 'how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.' The LORD answered, 'I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.'
The first thing to notice in the passage above is that the Lord doesn't answer Gideon's question about why these things have happened. Maybe because it was obvious in Israel's case as God had already pointed out through the prophet He sent. But for us, if it is not our own desires and sinful tendencies that have lead us into 'strife', then the question of where the trouble comes from is often unanswered as it was with Job. In these cases, we should learn to leave these things with God and by faith, look for the good that will be worked out of it.
Now Gideon doesn't exactly feel like the 'valiant warrior' that the Lord calls him. And as for him delivering Israel by himself... crazy talk! In fact Gideon feels more like a weakling than a warrior or someone valiant. 'You know the entire Manasseh tribe?' he says to God... 'Well my family is bottom of the barrel. Dead last! And in the most insignificant family in Manasseh, yep, I'm the youngest and weakest! You may have bet on the wrong horse I'm afraid!' Ever felt like that? That you really don't have anything much to offer God and probably can't be used? Well if you have, welcome to the Gideon factor! It just well may be, (if you can get your eyes off yourself) the very thing which propels you into being a likely candidate!
One God plus one weakling is always a majority in any fight. 'I will be with you' God tells Gideon, and that is all that we should ever need to know. (And it is what we should remind ourselves with!) Thankfully, this was enough for Gideon to know and his focus on his own inadequacies was not so deep rooted that it stopped him being obedient. But he certainly wanted this one thing confirmed (quite a few times actually!)